A Biblical Guide to Prayer - Part 7
Questions about Prayer – Part 4
· Is there a particular position that I should pray in?
As we can see from the Scripture below there is no one position that we must pray in. However, it is interesting to see that there is no biblical pattern for the common practice today of folding the hands, closing the eyes, and bowing the head.
Bowing down
Exodus 34:8 And Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship.
Psalm 95:6 Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Prostrate
Joshua 7:6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
Matthew 26:39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt."
Standing
Mark 11:25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions.
Lifting Hands
1 Kings 8:22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.
Psalm 28:2 Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to Thee for help, when I lift up my hands toward Thy holy sanctuary.
Kneeling
1 Kings 8:54 And it came about that when Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and supplication to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread toward heaven.
Sitting
1 Chronicles 17:16 Then David the king went in and sat before the Lord and said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that Thou hast brought me this far?
· What if I don’t know what to pray for?
If we make it a habit of praying the Scriptures we will never run out of things to be praying for. And even when we really don’t know what to pray we have the assurance that the Holy Spirit is praying for us (Rom 8:26, 27).
There are times however, when things happen around us or to us that we don’t fully understand. People get sick, disasters occur, jobs are lost. What do we pray for during these times? How do we know what the will of God is in these situations? Truth be told, many times we don’t. Oh, we know what our desire is but our desire may not be what God has planned. By all means we should pray for healing, restored lives and jobs, but always with the understanding that God may have a greater purpose behind these temporary trials of life. Therefore He may not answer our prayers the way we desire but it will always be for our good and His glory. We should always pray in submission to His goodness and in faith always close with “not my will by Thy will be done”.
· How should I end my prayers?
Though many people today often end their prayers in “In Jesus’ name” there is no example of that being done in the Bible or in the writing of the historic church. Most don’t even end with an “Amen” (most of the ones that do are blessings/exaltations to God – see section on Blessings). Most biblical prayers just end. It’s either that or they end with a benediction extolling God and His glory. A more appropriate way to end our prayers would be some of the following:
“Not my will, but Thine be done.”
“For Your glory.”
“Unto You O Lord, be the glory in the church, both now and evermore.”
“Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
By God's Grace ~ Through God's Word ~ For God's Glory!
Chuck Long
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